Chapter 6

Ava Miller found herself back at her home, after her long day at school.  If it were up to her, she would not find herself going back there anytime soon.  But she had no choice.  She had to go to school.

“I take it, you had a hard day?”

Ava smiled as she turned to look at the wandering spirit in the living room.  “You could say that.”

“I see that boy didn’t drive you home today.  Is everything alright?”

Ava turned to walk towards the kitchen, where she went to grab a glass of water.  She took a few sips before replying, “I’m finding out things that I wish I didn’t.  Apparently, Dustin has feelings for me, or it was because of the vampire bite.”  

“It was the vampire bite,” stated Grandmother Willow with worry.  “Did other boys had the same effect?”

“Mostly, yes.  It made me feel sick, I’m not used to that kind of attention.”  She took another sip before turning towards the spirit.  “Is there something I should be doing to prevent them from acting on impulses?”

“Yes, but it could drain your energy.”  When Ava just looked at her without saying anything else, Grandmother Willow sighed.  “Oh, alright.  All you need to do is imagine that your soul is nothing more than an orb around you.”

“How do I do that?”

“Raise your hands to where they are leveled with your heart, from each side of your chest facing outwards.”  When Ava did as she was told, Willow went on.  “Now push your hands outwards, imagining an orb being pushed along with your hands.”  As she saw Ava doing what she was saying, she added.  “Don’t forget to breathe or it won’t work.”

As soon as Ava had forgotten to breathe, the soul snapped back into her body.  Causing the young woman to wobble on her feet.  “Ouch, I felt that snap.”

“I TOLD YOU TO BREATHE!”  Grandmother Willow raked her eyes over Ava.  “Lucky for you, it was a small effort on your part to make it happen and not the full energy burst from that snap.  Otherwise, you would have been close to DEATH!”

Ava took a deep breath, as she was still holding onto the edge of the counter that she happened to be standing at.  “Next time, I learn this while I’m lying on the bed.  It might be a little bit easier on me.”

“Hmm,” Grandmother Willow sounded.  As she looked towards the window leading towards the front of the house.  “When is this Angel of Death supposed to come?”

“Tonight, I believe nightfall.”  Ava found her footing again and started walking towards her bedroom.  Where she sat down at her desk, looking out towards the forest.  “I can’t stop thinking about him, Grandmother Willow.”  She turned her eyes towards the phantom behind her.  “Is there something wrong with me?  I know that we can never be with one another.”

The elder woman chuckled, “You’re just an average young woman, who is trying to find love in the world.”  She sighed, closing her eyes.  “You’re all the same, always wanting what you can’t have.  I guess that is the human nature I suppose.”

“What do you mean by that?”

The older woman laughed, “Oh.  When I was young, I fell for a changeling.”  She smiled fondly, “He was a great warrior, but he chose someone that would meet his pleasing and I wasn’t it.”  Willow looked up to see the sadness from the young woman.  “Don’t worry child, it was a long time ago.”

“I guess I should work on what homework I needed to get done tonight.”  Ava reached for her backpack and went to work.  She knew within an hour her mother would be home from work.  

***

After dinner that night, a lone figure came to the front door.  Where an unusual sounding knock, wrap on the wooden surface.  Causing June to look towards Ava with sorrow.  “Whatever you’re doing, please be careful.”

“I will, mom.”  She pushed herself out of her chair and went towards the door, where she opened it.  Seeing Azrael standing there.  “Hello.”

“Hello, it’s time.”

Ava nodded, allowing herself to step out of the door and closing it behind her.  Following Azrael around the house, heading towards the woods.  Making their way to a clearing.  A place where it seemed that they would be training at.

Azrael stopped and turned to face her.  “After this night, I would tell that you would wear black.  It would mask any cuts you may have from any kind of fight.  You wouldn’t want your enemy to see you bleed, now do you?”

With a thoughtful look on her face, “I guess that makes since.”  She glanced down at her blue jeans and a red shirt that she happened to wear that day.  “So how are we going to do this?”

“For now, we will learn by using sticks.  Then we will move up when I believe you’re ready for the next challenge.”  He moved to the side, where he grabbed a couple of sticks that would be long enough to be swords.  “Now let us begin.”

After Azrael threw a stick to Ava, they went through drills on how to hold and swing at one another.  She even learned how to block, which she found that she was quite good at.  Whenever she tried to swing her stick towards him, he would knock her stick out of her hand.  

“You need to be a few steps ahead of what you think your enemy should be.”  He tilted his head slightly.  “Use your soul to reach out towards your opponent, to where you can see where they are heading.  Use it like a mind map, it will show you a shadow of a figure of where they will be.”

Ava stumbled a little, trying to picture in her mind what he was trying to tell her.  She could almost see what he was saying.  Enough to get an idea.  She nodded for them to start again.

“No more tonight, Starlight.  You have other things to learn, from your Spirit Walk.”  He turned his head towards the forest.  “It’s time for me to take you home.  I hear the creatures of the night wanting to make their way here.  They smell the vampire’s essence on you.”

“I have to ask, is it because the pheromones that are causing the males of my school to act weird?”

Azrael gave her a glance, “What do you mean?”

She looked towards the ground; she did not want to see him while she tried to tell him.  “Guys at my school seemed to have a . . . hormone awareness . . . towards me.”

“I see,” he stated simply, sounding near a soft bite behind his words.  “In that case then, yes, it is because of the vampire bite.  Causing them to be aware of you.  Especially when they haven’t before.”

“I thought so,” Ava grabbed her shoulder with her hand, rubbing it.  “I’ll see you tomorrow.”  She turned and walked towards her house.  She knew that she would be alright for her home was closer to her than any of the creatures.

Azrael watched her as she left.  “That is why I can’t trust myself until the poison is completely out of your system.”  He turned towards the forest, seeing a gathering of deadly creatures.  “If any one of you touches that mortal, you will find a sword slicing off your head.”

Each creature called out in their animal like sounds in dismay before they turned from the area.  Making their way deeper into the darkness.  Knowing that Azrael would make do on his word.  

He turned his head in the direction which Ava had taken.  “You’re safe for now, Starlight.”  Azrael then made his way towards his own home.  Knowing it was time to get some work done before Ava’s training was close to the next stage.

***

When Ava found herself in her room again that night.  She found Grandmother Willow smirking in the corner.  “I see your lack of will to defend yourself against him.  But I heard some sound knowledge that we should start working on.”

“Good to know you approve of his teachings,” stated Ava with hollowness in her voice.  “Let me grab a shower before I do anything else.”

“As you wish,” stated the elder woman, waving her hand for Ava to go on.  “But know that you need to focus a lot better.”

When twenty minutes had passed by, Ava was cleaned and changed into her night clothes.  She climbed onto her bed, waiting for Willow to say anything else.

“Now, close your eyes and picture your soul.”  Ava did as she was told.  “A bright white light with a tinge of yellow that is your soul.”  As she breathed, she felt a pulsating energy coming from her body.  “Feel the energy sweeping through you, allow it guide you.”

Grandmother Willow’s voice was slipping away from Ava’s ears.  She could feel the power of her soul building up, making her feel more alive than she had ever felt before.  As soon as she had opened her eyes, it was not from her body but through the glowing light of her soul.  

“You did well, child.  Now...”  

Before the elder woman could say anything more, a dark figure came into the room from one of the windows.  Ava could not see who it was but knew it was a male figure from the outline that she was able to see.

“I have found you, at long last.”  

The voice was nothing more than a deep voice, nothing else to let Ava know who it was.  Except for the knowledge of who it could be.  Blackie the black dragon that she was told about.  His energy felt familiar to her, but she could not place were.

“What do you want,” she hissed out.  Ava had gotten onto her feet, not allowing her eyes to leave the moving shadow.

He chuckled deeply, “Oh I’m here because I was promised about having you as my mate.”  His eyes flashed to an unknown color, but just enough to allow Ava to know where his eyes were.  “Don’t you remember?  You a unicorn and princess of your people, who agreed to a ceremony of becoming one.  You were to be MINE!”

“No,” gasped Ava in disbelief.  “I don’t remember, nor should I trust your word on it.”  She knew enough from Azrael that she had thought about doing it.  But he did not say anything and that she was on her way of doing it.

“It was Whitebeard, who whisked you away.”  He looked towards the window.  “To this human infested place.  The weak-minded race of species.”  He turned his focus back towards her.  “But being human has completed you so, you have a beauty like no other human has.  An inner beauty that none could strive for.”  

Ava could not help it, she started laughing.  “Next time I ran into my tormentors, I will have to ask them.”  She gave the figure a glare, “But why are you here?”

“To make sure that no matter which lifetime we are on, I will have you.”

“No, you won’t,” stated an elder woman’s voice, who sounded stronger than anything before.  “She was not met for you.  Even though a unicorn she may be, but she has a higher calling than to be with you!”

“Oh, then what calling would that be?  Once we are done with these human lives, we are sent back to our world to play out what should have been!”  His voice building up with his anger.  “She is MINE, and she will ALWAYS be MINE!”

“No,” Ava shook her head.  “I was never yours to have.”

“NO,” the male figure roared at her.

Ava raised her hands without thinking.  In-lining themselves next to her heart and pushed out.  Allowing her soul to shoot out from her heart and blast the figure out of her house.  A dark shadow of smoke had tried to smack back into the house but was only met with a solid impact.  When the figure could not find a way back into the house, the smoke flew off into the night sky.  

Ava’s soul had gone through a backlash, causing it to slam back into her body.  Making Ava gasp for breath when she had gone back into her body.  She looked around her room, sitting up. Readying herself for another attack.

“Don’t worry,” rasped an age sounding voice.  “He won’t be coming back tonight.”

Ava sighed and closed her eyes.  “Azrael had told me about him, but I was somewhat hoping that I wouldn’t have to face him.  At least, not this soon.”

“I’m afraid, child that he might be at your school, and you wouldn’t even know it.”  The spirit shook her head.  “You’re not ready for this kind of battle if he faces you at the school.”  Willow glanced out towards the woods.  “I’m going to have to find him before morning and hope that he would come up with something.”  

Ava stood up from her bed and found that her energy was lower than she had thought possible.  She placed her hand against the wall, hoping that it would allow her to stay on her feet.  “Wow, I need to control how much energy I should use.”

“Yes,” grumbled the elder woman.  “Also no.  The more that you use your soul’s energy, the more that it will build up and become a powerful weapon.  But I must advice.”  This caused Ava to look towards Willow.  “Don’t use it out of anger, it could kill you if you do.”

“What about fear?”

The elder woman smirked, “That you can do, but only for the safety for yourself and the people you care about.”  She walked towards the stairway.  “I’ll see you in the morning, you should rest.  If you do not, your energy won’t build up enough for you to go to this Riverside without a river at its side.”

The young struggling woman coughed, “Yeah.  I feel every inch of my body.”  She went into her bathroom to get a cup of water.  When she came back, Grandmother Willow was gone.  Knowing that she needed to rest before morning.  Ava laid her head down and slipped into her mind of dreams.